When Christmas Comes to Town
by swaggyzebraTW
Summary: Shot six of my predicted series of twelve for Christmas. It's Christmas morning at the Institute, and the Lightwoods, along with Simon, Clary, and Magnus, are woken up early to open their presents. Max is still alive in this one, helping to spread the joy! Couples: Clace, Simabelle, and Malec, but Clace-centric. Fluffy little shot for Christmas.


**AN: Max is still alive in this one, just so you all know. Don't mean to rub salt into the wounds by any means, and I realize that he died. It just made sense to have him in here, I guess. Anyway, please enjoy. SHOT 6 OF 12 (I HOPE, ANYWAY.)**

Voices sounded loudly from the hallways, and I groaned against the firm body I was laying on. Temporarily confused, I forced my eyes open, wincing at the newfound light that poured through my lids. I groped blindly for a few moments, feeling what felt like a toned and muscular body, before my eyes finally adjusted.

Refocusing on the figure, I could make out long blonde hair, tussled from sleep. Jace's face came into view, his head resting above my own as he slept. For once, he looked peaceful, like a boy who hadn't suffered as he had. It was beautiful, seeing Jace without the hard-ass facade; without his burdened emotions. I was happy that he could find some peace, even if only in sleep.

Feet pounded along the staircase and outside the door, and little shouts of glee sounded into what I now realized was Jace's room in the institute. "It's Christmas morning, everyone get up!"

I winced at the sheer volume of what could only be Max Lightwood's voice, though I smiled at the thought of how I got into Jace's room last night. No, we hadn't 'done' anything, but it certainly had been sweet. The whole family, Magnus, Simon, as well as myself included, had been watching movies until some ungodly hour. I had fallen asleep cuddling into Jace, who had apparently carried me into his room for the night in hopes to not disturb me.

Max passed out room, for now anyway, and I assumed he was going to wake up Izzy and Alec first. Jace stirred, his arm tightening around my waist as he buried his head into the crook of my neck. His breaths fanned across my cheek, sending shivers along my spine. I felt him smile against my shoulder before lightly kissing it.

"Morning." He said in a husky tone, his eyes still closed with sleep.

"Merry Christmas." I greeted, turning in his arms to face him. "What time is it?"

Jace opened his eyes, only to blink rapidly and wince at all the light in the bedroom, just as I had a few minutes earlier. He looked over at the clock on his bedside when his eyes adjusted enough. "Six-thirty."

"Ugh." I moaned, wishing that Max could have waited a few more hours to open presents.

Jace smiled. "We could just stay here, if you want."

I shook my head. "As great as that sounds, Max and the rest of the Lightwoods are going to do pretty much everything to make sure that doesn't happen. We might as well get up before something bad occurs."

"You're right." He agreed. "But, can't you make a rune that will make us unreachable?"

I thought about it for a few seconds, hoping something would come to me, before simply shaking my head. "Nope, nothing, and, remember the last time we tried out a new rune?"

Jace mock pouted. "Hey, you didn't know what that one did, and if I remember correctly, it ended up taking us to the North Pole, which is a trip I doubt you regret."

Well, he was right there. That had been interesting, and ended up being fun in the end. _(AN: That little escapade happened in a previous shot of mine, which I believe was called "Heart of Christmas/ Christmas at Pandemonium, in case you wish to check them out. They're on my profile.)_

"Whatever, Jace. I still can't come up with a rune that will hide us from a ten-year old boy and the rest of your family, at least right now. I'm sorry." Sarcasm flew from my mouth.

Jace moved back a little, apparently surprised that I was even capable of deadpanning. "Wow, Clary, never knew you had a sassy side. I'm kinda liking it."

Against my will, a long pink blush began to taint my neck and cheeks. Even after being through so much with Jace, and dating him for as long as I had, he could still make my heart flutter with simple comments, and I found that his words sparked an idea for a rune.

"I came up with a rune that could do the job." I stated, ready to tease him.

He grinned suddenly. "Do tell, before Max comes back for us."

I shook my head. "Nope. I'm not going to tell you about it."

"Why not?" He asked, indignant. "This could be of benefit to you too, you know."

I nodded, knowing he was right, but still in a teasing mood. "I know."

Jace was obviously puzzled, unseeing of my reasoning behind keeping it from him. "Then, why? We could get some more sleep…"

I smiled, watching as recognition crossed his features. "Well, you know how much I hate being teased, Clary." He whispered huskily into my ear. "Usually, I'm the one doing the teasing."

At that moment, he flipped my body under him, flying on top of me. Jace was straddling my thighs, and had pinned my wrists above my head. He paused for a few seconds, just holding me there, debating what to do.

He brought his lips to the shell of my ear, eliciting a shiver as he whispered into it. "Are you sure you don't want to tell me what the rune is?"

I nodded, trying to be nonchalant, but I feared I was failing. After all, I was pinned by Jace, who had to have been the most attractive guy I had ever met. "Positive." I said.

He kissed along my neck, sucking on my pulse point, which just happened to be one of my soft spots. After a few seconds, he pulled away abruptly, making his way back up to my ear. "What about now?"

I shook my head once again, using as much of my resolve as possible to deny him. "Nope, still don't want to."

He blew cool air against my dampened neck in response, which I had to refrain from moaning at, before he nipped at my collarbone. Using what I could only describe as skills, Jace moved his mouth is ways that made me want to give in to him. Still, I refused. If I had any chance of making it before I crumbled underneath him, I would need Max or one of the other Lightwoods to come in, and soon.

Jace was just about to resume his sweet-talking in my ear when the door opened, revealing an overt-excited and awake Max Lightwood. The boy opened his mouth as though to speak, but stopped when he saw the position Jace and I were in. With that image locked in his mind, he ran into the hallway, presumably to tattle on us and complain about his being now 'scarred for life.'

Jace's head was still turned towards the doorway, distracted, so I used the moment to kick his legs in, collapsing him to the bed, where I could then climb on top of him. "Pinned you." I whispered into his ear, trying to be as seductive as he had earlier.

He smiled at that. "Yeah, but what can I say, you learned from the best."

I rolled my eyes at his cockiness, but brought my lips to his regardless in the start of what would soon become a steamy make-out session. His hands wound themselves into my hair, making fists, while mine had released his wrists in favor of placing them along the smooth planes of his chest. I was playing with the hem of his top when an artificial cough sounded from the doorway.

I looked up embarrassingly to spot Maryse, who was frowning and crossing her arms along her chest. "What do you two think you're doing?" She asked, still grumpy by the looks of things.

Jace cleared his throat, pulling me down next to him so that he could actually see the woman. "Umm, well, I guess we were…" He paused, stuttering and speechless for once in his life. I found myself relishing in the moment.

"We were just about to come down stairs." I answered for him, pulling down my tank top which had somehow wiggled its way above my stomach, probably with the help of Jace,

Maryse nodded, rolling her eyes. "Sure you were. Anyway, we're all waiting downstairs, and will be expecting you momentarily. No more delays, okay?"

I nodded, and I could tell that Jace was just waiting impatiently for her to leave. He let out a steady breath of air when she did. "We'll be expecting you momentarily." He said in a mock voice, trying to mimic Maryse.

I could tell he was irritated that she interrupted. "Well, Jace, she did just catch us making out, in _front_ of her young son, who is also your brother. She has reason to be fairly upset."

"Whatever." He said before taking advantage of my being distracted, much like I had earlier.

Jace had me pinned beneath him once again, though this time his eyes were clouded and he simply used the position to kiss me deeply. "Do we still have to go downstairs?" He wined.

That elicited another eye roll. "Yes, Jace. It's Christmas, and we're spending it with our family."

"Technically you're family." He said, smiling. "We even thought we were brother and sister once."

"But we weren't." I countered.

"So?" He said, sitting up and pulling away. "Don't get mad that I just want to spend a little more time with you- my girlfriend of a few months."

Ah, there he went pulling the girlfriend card. "Jace, come on. Max is waiting to open his gifts, and you know Maryse won't allow him to until we're downstairs."

"Please?" He begged, grasping my hands in his in a pleading manner.

"No."

He sighed theatrically. "Okay."

I got out of bed, only to see that I had slept in yesterday's clothes, and I was in dire need to change. Wearing jeans was not a good idea for a movie night. "You have some clothes I can borrow?" I asked Jace, who was now pilfering through his drawers in search of something for himself to wear.

He mumbled, before tossing some sweats and a tee over his shoulder, letting them land in front of me on the bed. "Try those."

I looked over at him, and upon seeing that he was still facing away from me, decided to quickly change then and there. Keeping a watchful eye on Jace, I stripped down to just my underwear and pulled on the sweats. Looking down briefly, I tied the string as tightly as I could, though I found that they still hung low on my hips. Whatever, I thought, the tee will be long enough to cover it up.

I looked back up, about to pull on the tee-shirt, when I spotted Jace, who was no longer rifling through the drawers, but instead he was grinning, and looking right at me. He looked quite impish, and didn't even bother to turn away when he noticed that I had caught him staring. Instead, he simply grinned cheekily. "Likin' the lace." Jace said, pointing at my chest.

To both my pleasure and embarrassment, I found that my bra was indeed lace, and pink. Just like my face was at the moment. "Jace!" I squeaked, meaning for it to be more threatening than it actually turned out to be.

He chuckled, walking towards me. I became panicked, wondering what he was about to do, but he simply pressed a kiss to my lips, and pulled the tee over my head. "As much as I loved that sighting of you, your face was beginning to turn the color of the wrapping paper downstairs."

Another blush made its way to my cheeks, which I didn't even think was possible, but I managed to collect myself enough to pull Jace out of the bedroom and into the hallway. Walking downy he stairs into the main living area, I spotted Max squatting under the tree, staring curiously at a large present that had Izzy's name on it. I knew what it was because I had been the one that had gotten it for her, and it was easy to say that Max wouldn't be as interested when he found out what it actually was.

Magnus and Alec were curled up on a couch, both looking sleepy, but only Alec looked the slightest bit irritated. Mags looked like, well, a child on Christmas morning.

Robert and Maryse were both sat on a love-seat, both looking as impassive as usual. It was almost creepy how professional they looked, and they weren't even touching each other. They were almost on completely different ends of the sofa. Almost like they were in the middle of a lovers tiff.

Izzy was on the recliner, by herself, taking up the whole space in some odd way despite her being small. Simon, was on the floor, pouting because of what I could only assume was his being forced onto the floor. Izzy and Alec were both trying to tell him to shut up, and he looked odd with the quantity of blankets he was enswathed in.

"Clary! Jace!" Max shouted, finally spotting us.

I smiled warmly, happy to see that the incident from earlier was seemingly forgotten. "Hey, Max."

"You're finally here!" He said, before spiriting over to us with two smaller gifts in his hands. "These are for you."

I took one gently, feeling how it was quite light, even for its size. "Thanks, Max."

Jace took his in his hands, and reached out to mess with Max's hair affectionately. "Thanks, little buddy."

Max grinned, making his way back to the tree. He proceeded to hand out all the presidents, leaving each person with a pile beside them. Jace and I had become situate on the floor beneath Alec and Magnus, and Jace had an arm wrapped securely around my waist. I had my head leaned on his shoulder, and I saw the 'omg you guys are so gross' looks that Max kept giving us. Well, I suppose he was giving them to Alec and Mags as well, as they were also close together, snuggling happily in each others arms.

"Ready to open the first gift, Max-ey?" Maryse asked in her babying tone.

He nodded vigorously, before choosing a gift at random. Santa does not visit shadow-hunters, so he picks one from his family. He just so happens to choose mine.

He's just about to tear apart the red wrapping when Maryse admonishes him. "Who's it from, sweetie, and is there a card that you should open first?"

Max read the gift label aloud. "To Max, from Clary, Merry Christmas. No card."

At Robert's nod, he tore at the paper, unveiling a small, leather-bound book. Opening it, he spotted my hand-drawn drawings, which actually moved across the pages due to a few new runes I created. It was like a cross breed between a children's book and a movie. I had actually been excited to see his reaction when he opened it, because I myself, had thought it was pretty cool, not to toot my own horn.

"How did you do this?" He asked, still staring at the moving creatures along the pages.

All the head turned to me, also curious. I blushed for the millionth time this morning. "I, well, I made a few new runes and drew a few things, came up with a story line, and BAM. Moving picture book for Max."

Jace whispered almost seductively in my ear. "Really cool, babe. Hopefully I'll be seeing what other skills you have later."

I tried to remain nonchalant at that, and turned towards Izzy, who was also opening her first gift, also from me. "I chose this one for its size." She admitted openly, before tearing right into it. Once she had the box open, she smiled widely. Isabelle pulled out a black dress, olden style, great for demon hunting, also an awesome replacement of the one she had just destroyed.

"Thank you so much, Clary!" She said, pulling out the matching shoes. "These actually match, and I was needing a replacement for the next time we go out!"

Max sighed. "I thought it would be something more awesome, given its size."

"That's what she said." Alec mumbled, out of earshot for the boy, but Maryse heard.

"Max and Alec!" She stated sternly.

They both silenced themselves, and Jace began to open his present from Magnus. "Please don't be sparkly!" He hoped aloud, earning a laugh from all of us, even Magnus.

"Don't worry, it isn't." Magnus reassured. "In fact, I think you'll like it quite a bit."

Jace continued to peel away the wrapping, which revealed a small cardboard box. "I hope this isn't just a box, Mags." he joked.

"Have you no faith in me?" Magnus asked, feigning being indignant.

The lid was lifted off the box, revealing a large bundle of black leather. As Jace pulled the material out, it became obvious that the item was a new leather jacket, just like his favorite, which was beginning to wear out and loose it's color.

"How did you find this? I thought they didn't make them anymore!" Jace exclaimed, his happiness unconfined.

"They don't, but I found this store in Dublin, that was so unpopular that they still had an extra one. In your size. It worked out brilliantly." Magnus said, smiling at his handiwork.

"Why were you in Dublin?" Alec asked, possible jealousy tenting his voice.

Magnus shook his head. "I wasn't. I found a catalog of theirs in the mail, and spotted the jacket, and stole it from them."

Maryse covered Max's ears. "Must we speak of stealing in front of Max? This is supposed to be a time of giving, not taking illegally."

"They were going out of business anyway." Magnus defended. "I took it off their hands during the closeout sale. Look at it that I helped them, as now they won't have to throw it away or dispose of it. Besides, I made Jace quite happy."

"He could have killed people for it and I still would have been happy." Jace agreed.

"Why are you covering my ears, Mom?" Max asked, pulling his head away from the woman's grasp.

"I don't know honey, but you can let Alec open his first present now." She said, giving them one last scowl.

Max nodded, looking at Alec, who had grabbed a present from beside him. "From Izzy." He read off the label, before tearing the first ribbon off. Opening the present, he pulled out a new stele, which was engraved with his name and Magus' around its circumference. "Thanks, Iz."

She nodded. "No problem. Clary, open one of yours!"

I nodded, before picking a random gift with my name on it. Reading the label I saw that it was from Jace, and I gave him a brief kiss before opening it. Pulling at the loose sheeting, I revealed a beautiful necklace, with a large purple stone at its center, along with many clear gems around the chain. "It's beautiful." I stated, looking Jace in the eyes.

He smiled. "It's kinda like Izzy's necklace; special for shadow-hunters. It pulsates whenever a demon is nearby."

I thanked him. "It's prefect. Thank you, Jace."

Simon chucked a strand of mistletoe at Jace's and my head. We ducked and he explained, "Just kiss already. We know you want to."

"Merry Christmas." I said to Jace.

"Merry Christmas." He said back, connecting my lips to his.

**AN: There you guys go, shot 6 of the predicted 12. I will say, I'm really behind schedule. Hopefully, I'll be able to get back on track soon. Believe me when i say that review and follows, and all that stuff really motivate me. Also, I have all honors classes this trimester, and I am having a ton of homework and stuff. So I apologize. I have winter concert coming up for band that I need to practice for… The list goes on. Anyway, hope you all liked, and follow me so you can get updated on whenever I post the next shots!**


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